After a shaky start, the University of Hawaii softball powered past UTEP to open the Easton Desert Classic with a 10-5 win on Thursday in Las Vegas.
After falling behind 5-0 in the first inning, the Rainbow Wahine (4-2) caught the Miners in the second and pulled away with five more runs in the third and fourth innings.
UH freshman Heather Morales recovered from UTEP’s first-inning outburst — which included a grand slam by Ashley Eldridge — to shut out the Miners (1-5) over the next six innings.
Morales also went 2-for-3 at the plate, including a two-run single in the fourth inning to cap the scoring.
The bottom of the UH order sparked the comeback in the top of the second as Sharla Kliebenstein, hitting eighth in the order, delivered a two-run double. Alyssa Villalpando, making her first start of the season, followed with a three-run home run to tie the game. Leisha Li’ili’i then gave UH the lead with a leadoff homer in the third inning and the Wahine added four more runs in the fourth
"Two words — It’s Vegas," UH coach Bob Coolen said. "The ball flies out of here."
Morales (4-1) held UTEP to three hits in the final six innings and wound up with four strikeouts and one walk.
"I told her your ball’s not going to move much here (in the thin air) … and she figured it out," Coolen said.
The four-day tournament continues today with UH facing top-ranked Florida and Seattle.
At Las Vegas, Nev.
| HAWAII (4-2) |
051 |
400 |
0 |
— |
10 |
12 |
2 |
| UTEP (1-5) |
500 |
000 |
0 |
— |
5 |
6 |
1 |
Heather Morales and Kayla Wartner. Kaitlin Fifield, Danielle Pearson (3), Taylor Grohmann (7) and McKenzey Finley. W—Morales. L—Fifield.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Jazmine Zamora, RBI; Wartner, 2-4; Keiki Carlos, RBI; Leisha Li’ili’i, HR; Sharla Kliebenstein, 2-4, 2B, 2 RBIs; Alyssa Villalpando, 2-4, HR, 3 RBIs; Morales, 2-3, 2 RBIs. UTEP: Samantha Alvillar, 2-4, Ashley Eldridge, 2-3, 2B, HR, 4 RBIs.
